Tennessee: most dangerous state, says FBI

Oct. 23, 2013

Written by

Alex Beecher

Staff Writer

Tennessee ranks among the most dangerous states due to a high rate of violent crime in the country, according to the FBI’s 2012 crime stats report.

The FBI reported that the Volunteer State is in the top 10 in the country for murders and robberies and is No. 1 for aggravated assaults. These crimes are highly concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Memphis and Nashville.

Statistically, 643 Tennessee residents out of every 100,000 have been a victim of violent crime.

According to the FBI website, violent crimes include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. These crimes are in direct correlation with a state’s education and poverty rates.

“The apparent relationship between low income, low education and higher crime rates has been well documented, although identifying the cause and effect is still a matter of debate ... Of the 10 states with the highest rates of violent crime, eight have lower rates of adults with bachelor’s degrees, and most of them had median income levels below the national figure in 2012,” according to an article in USA Today.

Following Tennessee, Nevada, Alaska, New Mexico and South Carolina are the four most dangerous states. All but Alaska has notoriously low education and high poverty rates.

According to USA Today’s same report, Tennessee’s poverty rate is 17.9 percent and 24.3 percent of the state’s population has a bachelor’s degree or higher.

However, people are discouraged against ranking statewide crime rates because demographics, such as education and the economy, can be skewed. Crime can also be particularly high in urban cities, which also upsets data accuracy.

Some of the university’s students were surprised by these statistics.

“I feel perfectly safe in Memphis, but I also know where to go and when to go there. I don’t think it’s a terrible place, but there are a lot of bad parts of town that I choose to stay away from,” said Becca Davis, a nursing student from Memphis.

Chelsea Tarpley, a senior nursing student from Chattanooga, said she never felt threatened at home but was always sure to make smart choices concerning her safety.

“I feel safe on campus, but there’s always a ‘what if’ because there’s always some idiot running around with a gun. It’s just like any other campus, though. You just have to be careful,” Tarpley said.

The most common campus crime is burglary, according to MTSU’s annual campus crime report.

Amanda Rookstool, Tarpley’s roommate, agreed that campus was no different than any other university.

“It makes sense that a little more crime would happen on our campus because so many people go to school here. It’s not that it’s dangerous; it’s just crowded,” Rookstool said.

While students feel safe on campus, they still exercise caution.

“I’ve never felt unsafe during the day, but I always call someone to pick me up if I’m at the library late at night. I think that’s more common sense than being paranoid,” said Haleigh Ezell, an organizational communications major.